Church Elder Sues Pastor for Swearing in Sermons

Gregory Reid is the treasurer and a ruling elder of Church of the Covenant in Manhattan. Reid claims in his suit that the church’s interim pastor, Cornell Edmonds, has not only used cuss words in his sermons, but that he has neglected to visit the sick and elderly, used stories involving murderers and drug dealers as illustrations in his sermons, and taken down church plaques which read “God is love.”

Reid is suing Edmonds for $1 million, according to Charisma News.

Edmonds, who, rather ironically, is also a criminal defense attorney, denies Reid’s allegations, claiming that love is the only “four letter word” he uses.

“I have absolutely nothing to hide. There is nothing nefarious,” Edmonds asserted.

The New York daily news reports that the 165-year-old church has also recently lost the support of the New York Opera Exchange, whose performances were an essential component of the church’s revenue and who severed ties with the church due to Edmonds’s behavior.